Apparatus for the production of photographic copies



p 1959 s. SCHWPIENBACHER 2,903,954

APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC COPIES Filed Jan; 23, 1956United States Patent Dfilice 2,903,954 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 APPARATUSFOR THE PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC COPIES Georges Schwienbacher, Zurich,Switzerland, assig'nor of one-half to Lumoprint-Zindler K.G., Hamburg,Germany Application January 23, 1956, Serial No. 560,817

Claims priority, application Switzerland January 26, 1955 4 Claims. (Cl.9577.5)

The invention relates to an apparatus for the production of photographiccopies in which the exposure of the negative paper is effected by thecontinuous process and the positive paper is treated by the diffusionprocess. With such apparatus, the original had to be withdrawn by handand the negative paper had to be inserted together with the positivepaper, again by hand, into the supply or feed-in passage of thedeveloper bath, this procedure being tedious and time-wasting whenproducing a relatively large number of positives. Not only the negativepapers but also the positive papers travelled through the liquid,whereby the support of the positive layer also absorbed the developerliquid, the result of which was that such photographic copies wereyellow and required a long drying time. Furthermore, in the knownequipment, the exposure lamp for the negative paper was automaticallyswitched ofi after each passage of the original and the negative paperin order that the exposure cylinder should not be heated too stronglybefore the following original and negative paper were inserted; thedriving motor remained switched on or had to be switched on again by aseparate switch after being switched oil, this also being tedious.Finally, the emptying and renewal of the developer liquid presentedcertain difficulties, particularly because the containers previouslyused for the developer liquid had to be made particularly large, sincesmall quantities oxidized too quickly, whereby they were soon notsuitable for use and consequently had to be frequently replaced.

The invention is characterized in that after the known exposure of thenegative paper by the continuous process, the original leaves theapparatus, while means are provided which allows the positive paper toenter the apparatus, that further means conduct the negative andpositive papers through the developer bath in such manner that thepositive paper does not travel through the liquid, but is only justmoistened on its layer side by means of a conveyor roller raising theliquid, and these means guide the two papers towards compensatingrollers in such manner that before reaching the said rollers, thesurface of the positive paper is applied to the wet negative paper sothat the layers thereof are in contact and the said rollers press thetwo papers together and lead them out of the apparatus, that thecontainer for the developer bath can be removed downwardly from theapparatus housing, can be fed from a reserve container and can beemptied into the latter by additional means, and that an additionalswitch for the light and motor circuit is connected electrically inparallel with the light and motor switch which is actuated by theinsertion of the original and the negative paper.

One embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention is shown byway of example in the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section on the line A B of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a plan view, partly in section on the hue CD of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation in the direction of the arrow E, accordingto a section on the line F-G of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line H---] of Figure 2.

In the figures, 1 represents the apparatus housing with the bottomclosure plate 2, while 3 is the container for the developer bath withthe closure plate 4. Arranged at the place where the original and thenegative paper issue from the exposure cylinder 5 is a horizontallydisposed guide plate 6, facing which is an opening 7 in the top wall ofthe housing 1. At that end of this opening 7 which is remote from theexposure cylinder 5, a wall 8 of the housing extends at an angle towardsthe guide plate 6, while at least one roller 9 guiding the negativepaper into the developer bath is provided parallel to the exposurecylinder and on the opposite side with respect to the said wall 8.

A double lever is pivotally mounted parallel to the guide roller 9 onthat wall 8 of the housing 1 extending at an inclination to the guideplate 6, the downwardly directed arm 10 of said lever projecting into aslot 11 formed in the guide plate 6, while the upwardly directed arm 12of the double lever is pivotally connected to a horizontally extendingclosure rod 13 projecting into a slot 14 which is provided in the topwall of the apparatus housing at right angles to the path of movement ofthe negative paper for the entry of the positive paper into the saidhousing, this positive paper being guided in the holder 15.

Provided beneath the slot 14 and parallel to the guide roller 9 are twodriving rollers 16 and 17 for introducing the positive paper into thehousing. Situated beneath the rollers 16 and 17 is at least one guidewall 18 of the apparatus housing the said wall extending as far as theinlet for the positive paper between two additional superimposed drivingrollers 20 and 21 which are arranged parallel to the rollers 16 and 17.The lower roller 21 of the two rollers 20 and 21 is immersed with itsbottom half in the developer liquid and wets the layer side of thepositive paper, while a wall 3 of the liquid container 3 following theguide roller 9 for the negative paper extends downwardly substantiallyparallel to the last mentioned guide wall 18 to serve as a guide for thenegative paper, Which is situated beneath the bottom roller 21 after ithas entered the liquid. The wall 3 of the liquid container extends withan upward inclination and serves as means for guiding the negative andpositive papers to the two compensating, or press, rollers 22 and 23arranged above the liquid 3. The lower roller 22 is rotatable but itsbearing is not displaceably arranged, whereas the journals of the uppercompensating roller 23 can be moved at right angles to the direction ofmovement of the negative and positive papers. The liquid container 3projects into the apparatus housing 1 through an opening provided in thebottom plate 2 of said housing 1 and a compressible reserve liquidcontainer 24 is provided in the lateral portion 3 of the liquidcontainer between the wall 3" thereof which leads at an inclinationtowards the com pensating rollers 22; the container 24 is connected tothe lowest part of the liquid container 3, while a pressure device isconnected with the upper part of the container 24. As more clearly shownin Fig. 3, the pressure device consists of a plate 26 which bearsagainst the upper part of the reserve container 24 and a pressure rod isfixed in this plate at right angles thereto. The rod 27 extends throughan opening in the top wall of the liquid container 3 and is provided atits upper end with a press-button 28 which is formed with a slot 29arranged at right angles to its longitudinal axis; a return spring 30 isprovided between the bottom surface of the press-button 28 and the topwall of the reserve container 24.

A contact switch 31 is arranged beneath the guide plate 6 and thecontact spring 31' thereof projects into an opening 32 of the supplypassage 32 for the original and negative paper, the said passageextending from the insertion point 33 up to the insertion point at theexposure cylinder 5. A control disc 34 is provided on the partition 1'on the motor side of the apparatus housing and the said disc has sliprings 34' and 34 arranged concentrically thereon, the brushes 35 and 35"for switching on and off the motor circuit and the circuit of theexposure lamp bearing on the said rings.

The guide roller 9, the driving rollers 16, 17 and it 21 and thecompensating rollers 22, 23 are mounted between two partitions 1 and 1".These rollers are driven by driving members which are arranged betweenone partition 1 and the outside wall of the apparatus housing, while thelateral portion 3 of the liquid container 3 extends between the secondpartition 1 and the oppo site outside wall of the apparatus housing.

The driving members for the rollers and the like consist of an electricmotor 36 which drives the guide roller 9 by means of a reduction gear37, 38, 39, 40, the said roller 9 driving the upper roller 20 of theliquid container 3 and a roller 42 of the exposure cylinder by means ofa chain drive 41. The roller 42 is positively connected for rotation onthe control disc 34 for the motor circuit and the lamp circuit of theexposure cylinder, while the lower compensating roller 22 is driventhrough an intermediate wheel 43 and the chain drive 44 from thereduction gear wheel 40 connected to the guide roller 9.

The original is inserted with the negative paper through the inletopening 33 after the positive paper has been positioned in the holder15, the said paper being still held away from the driving rollers 16 and17 by the closure rod 13. The original travels with the negative paperthrough the supply passage 32 and closes the contact 31 by contactingthe spring 31' and displacing it upwardly. By this means, the motorcircuit and the exposure lamp circuit are closed. In addition to drivingthe various rollers and cylinders, the motor also sets the control disc34 in rotation; the brushes 35 and 35 bear on the slip rings of thecontrol disc 34. The slip ring 34' keeps the circuit of the exposurelamp closed until the original and negative paper have left the exposurecylinder, after the end of the original and the end of the negativepaper have already freed the contact spring 31" and thus the contact 31has opened again. The slip ring 34 keeps the motor circuit closed untilthe positive paper has issued together with the negative paper from theslot 45 in the apparatus housing.

After the negative paper has been exposed, the original is removed byhand through the opening 7. The negative paper continues to move forwardand rotates the lower arm 10 of the double lever in an upward direction;by this means, the rod 13 is moved out of the slot 14 and the positivepaper is freed. The latter paper is gripped by the driving rollers 16and 17 and travels towards and between the driving rollers 20 and 21.The photographic layer of the positive paper which does not dip into theliquid, is wetted or moistened, with developer liquid by the roller 21,the lower half of which is immersed in the iquid. Simultaneously withthe introduction of the positive paper, the negative paper is deflectedby the roller 9 into the developer bath and travels underneath theroller 21 and thus through the liquid. Both papers then pass along thewall 3 to the compensating rollers 22 and 23, where the positive isproduced by the diffusion process.

The liquid of the reserve liquid container 24 is supplied in thenecessary quantity into the lower part of the liquid container 3 bydepressing the press-button 28 and the latter is held in the depressedposition by the slot 29 engaging on the top wall of the housing 1.

After the negative has been exposed, it is also possible for theoriginal to be extracted upwardly through the opening 7 by providingautomatic means which are not shown in the drawing.

all

Instead of initiating the introduction of the positive paper between thetwo driving rollers 16 and 17 by displacement of the rod 13 by means ofthe double lever 10, 12 and instead of providing a control disc 34 withslip rings and brushes as a second motor and lamp switch, it ispossible, although this is not shown in the drawings, for the workingoperations caused by each element to be carried out by members which arein direct communication with the driving chain for the rollers; inparticular, the driven chain wheel 0 fthe driving roller 17 is notprovided with teeth over its entire circumference, so that a part of itscircumference is defined by a surface and in particular a plane surface.Provided on that limiting surface of the chain wheel which is parallelto the chain wheel axis and at right-angles to this surface is a drivingpin which periodically takes up a position in the path of movement of asecond driver pin provided with the driving chain at right-angles to itsdirection of movement in the plane of one of the links of the drivingchain. As long as this fiat limiting surface of the chain wheel of thedriving roller 17 is parallel to the direction of movement of thedriving chain, the said chain wheel is not rotated by the driving chainand thus the positive paper is also not introduced into the apparatus.It is only when the driving pin of the driving chain has rotated thechain wheel of the driving roller 17 by a certain distance on strikingthe driving pin of said chain wheel that the teeth of this chain wheelmesh with the driving chain and the chain wheel is rotated by a completerevolution in order then to stop again. During the rotation of the chainwheel, the positive paper is pushed by the driving rollers 16 and 17 tosuch an extent into the apparatus that it can be gripped by the rollers20 and 21.

In the path of movement of the driver pin connected to the drivingchain, a contact switch is also provided at such a position that it isopened by the driver pin of the driving chain striking the movablecontact part of the contact switch when the positive and negative papershave left the compensating rollers; at this moment, the exposure lamp isswitched off and the motor is stopped.

I claim:

1. Photographic copy producing apparatus comprising a housing, aninitially ineffective exposure device rotatably arranged within saidhousing, a first aperture formed in said housing for enabling insertionof an original and a negative photographic sheet in superimposedrelationship, first guidance means for guiding said superimposedoriginal and negative sheets about said device, initially ineffectiveelectrical driving means arranged within said housing, electricalcontact means for rendering said exposure device and driving meanseffective upon insertion of said original and negative sheets, a secondaperture formed in said housing for elfecting withdrawal of saidoriginal sheet from said housing subsequent to guidance thereof aboutsaid device, an initially obstructed third aperture formed in saidhousing for enabling insertion of a positive photographic sheet intosaid housing upon being rendered unobstructed, lever means pivotallymounted within said housing for rendering said third apertureunobstructed upon operative engagement with said negative sheetsubsequent to guidance thereof about said device, first electricallydriven roller means for directing said positive sheet upon insertionthereof within said housing, an arcutate shaped vessel arranged withinsaid housing and having a volume of development fluid contained therein,second guidance means for effecting immersive passage of said negativesheet through said fluid and for concurrently etfecting passage of saidpositive sheet slightly above the level of said fluid within saidvessel, second electrically driven roller means for moistening only theunder surface of said positive sheet by said fluid during passagethereof above said fluid while maintaining the negative sheet immersed,third electrically driven roller means for effecting conforming pressingof said positive and negative sheets together after moistening of theunder surface of said positive sheet, a fourth aperture formed in saidhousing for elfecting concurrent exit of said positive and negativesheets from said housing subsequent to the conforming pressing thereof,and electrical controlling means for regulating the operation of saidexposure device and said electrical driving means.

2. Photographic copy producing apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid electrical driving means includes an electric motor arranged withinsaid housing, and means for operatively interconnecting said first,second, and third electrically driven roller means and said electricalcontrolling means to said motor.

3. Photographic copy producing apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid electrical controlling means includes a rotatable disc arrangedwithin said housing, a pair of slip rings concentrically formed on saiddisc, and electrical wiper members individually engaging said slip ringson said disc.

4. Photographic copy producing apparatus comprising a housing, aninitially ineffective exposure device rotatably arranged within saidhousing, a first aperture formed in said housing for enabling insertionof an original and a negative photographic sheet in superimposedrelationship, first guidance means for guiding said superimposedoriginal and negative sheets about said device, initially ineffectiveelectrical driving means arranged within said housing, electricalcontact means for rendering said exposure device and driving meanseffective upon insertion of said original and negative sheets, a secondaperture formed in said housing for efiecting withdrawal of saidoriginal sheet from said housing subsequent to guidance thereof aboutsaid device, an initially obstructed third aperture formed in saidhousing for enabling insertion of a positive photographic sheet intosaid housing upon being rendered unobstructed, lever means pivotallymounted within said housing for rendering said third apertureunobstructed upon operative engagement with said negative sheetsubsequent to guidance thereof about said device, first electricallydriven roller means for directing said positive sheet upon insertionthereof within said housing, an arcuate shaped vessel arranged withinsaid housing and having a volume of development fluid contained therein,second guidance means for effecting irnmersive passage of said negativesheet through said fluid and for concurrently efiecting passage of saidpositive sheet slightly above the level of said fluid within saidvessel, second electrically driven roller means for moistening only theunder surface of said positive sheet by said fluid during passagethereof above said fluid while maintaining the negative sheet immersed,third electrically driven roller means for effecting conforming pressingof said positive and negative sheets together after moistening of theunder surface of said positive sheet, further guidance meansintermediate the second and third electrically driven roller means foreffecting contacting engagement between the moistened under surface ofthe positive sheet and the negative sheet, a fourth aperture formed insaid housing for effecting concurrent exit of said positive and negativesheets from said housing subsequent to the conforming pressing thereof,and electrical controlling means for regulating the operation of saidexposure device and said electrical driving means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,732,778 Limberger Ian. 31, 1956

